Garbage! Aaaugh!

Denise here reporting on the biggest problem plaguing our area right now. Many of you may have already heard reports on the terrible garbage problems in Italy. The worst of it is right here in Napoli. These pictures were taken several weeks ago when we thought that the garbage piles had reached an all time high. We were wrong. I don't have recent pictures, but at this point there are many streets that are now literally impassable because of all the garbage.

Almost every day protestors block the roads in different major traffic areas to protest the garbage problem. Most of them are protesting the fact that 3 major land fills that had previously been shut down are now going to be re-opened. People in those areas don't want this to happen, because they are demanding new and better ways of getting rid of the garbage since the land fills are constantly full and garbage ends up sitting on the street all the time. Poor garbage planning and the fact that the garbage industry is owned by the Cumora (Mafia here) has kept Naples littered with garbage for years now and the Italian people are sick of the problem especially since they are taxed for the removal of trash which never gets removed. It's a little difficult for a newcomer to understand all the particulars of the politics here, but it sure is a mess. The rumors around here from the locals is that the Cumora obviously just pockets the garbage money instead of constructing adequet facilities for removal. When things do get bad they usually hire another company (also owned by the Cumora) to do reports on all the toxic and environmental problems the garbage is causing. Of course, this still hasn't solved the problem, just lines the Cumora's pockets with more money to do these reports. This persons uneducated opinion on the matter--Naples would be such a beautiful city without all this mess! I hope they get it cleaned up sometime in the near future!

One garbage adventure for me was the other day a friend and I were trying to get to the Post office to pay the fees for the kids school insurance. We rounded a corner to find the roads blocked off. The protestors had seized a city bus, unloaded all the people and parked it across the intersection to block traffic. They looked very angry and shouted for us to turn around, so I promptly backed up the one way ramp until I could turn around. We then had to find our way around the clogged traffic to the Post Office in the next city over, Pozzuoli. Once we got there we stood in line for over 2 hours. All the local parents who needed to pay for their kids' school fees before the next day were in line there. We found out while waiting that the other main Post Office in Arco Felice had been set on fire by the protestors also, forcing all the parents left to wait at this one in Pozzuoli.



Garbage is not picked up at your house here in Italy like it is in the states. You simply take it to your local dumpster on a nearby street location. Can you find the dumpsters in these pictures? If not it is because they are covered in garbage! Needless to say, this garbage problem really stinks! Google Garbage in Naples, Italy if you are interested in learning any more. It is making international news. The army has been called out to help the garbage trucks get through and the EU is now threatening to take Italy to court and force a solution. Just thought you might find my local pictures and perspective interesting!